Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and brother of

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; c. 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucat ...

who participated in campaigns in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, Guatemala, and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...

(co-founding its present capital,

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital it ...

). Gonzalo de Alvarado was a native of Badajoz and son of Diego Gómez de Alvarado y Mexía de Sandoval, born in Badajoz in 1460 and '' vecino'' of Badajoz, Extremadura,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of Lobón,"Conquered Conquistadors" ''Florine G.L. Asselbergs'', First Edition, published 2004

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

, Montijo and Cubillana, ''

Alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) ...

'' of

Montánchez Montánchez is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. I ...

, ''Trece'' of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgri ...

, Lord of Castellanos, ''

Maestresala A food taster is a person who ingests food that was prepared for someone else, to confirm it is safe to eat. One who tests drinks in this way is known as a cupbearer. The person to whom the food is to be served is usually an important person, su ...

'' of

Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...

and General of the Frontier of Portugal, widow of Teresa Suárez de Moscoso y Figueroa, and second wife Leonor de Contreras y Gutiérrez de Trejo. Alvarado y Contreras went to

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

in 1510 with all his older brother Pedro and younger brothers

Jorge Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...

Gómez Gómez (frequently anglicized as Gomez) is a common Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Gome". The Portuguese and Old Galician version is Gomes, while the Catalan form is Gomis. The given name ''Gome'' is derived from the Visigothic wor ...

, Hernando and Juan and their uncle Diego de Alvarado y Mexía de Sandoval. When Pedro de Alvarado was wounded on his left thigh and handicapped for the rest of his life he abandoned the war and appointed his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, to continue the task. In 1525 the conquest of El Salvador was completed and the city of San Salvador was established. His descendants were represented by the family Vides de Alvarado after the famous 17th century historians

Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán (1643–1700) was a Guatemalan '' criollo'' historian and poet. His only surviving work is the '' Recordación Florida''. Biography Fuentes y Guzmán was born to a wealthy family in Santiago de los Caballer ...

and also the father Domingo Juarros y Montufar.

Family

Ancestors

References

Further reading